Kit History

Formed by the merger of the original Aberdeen, Orion and Victoria United

1903-1904n

1904-1907a m

1907-1908q

1908-1909m

1909-1910m

1910-1911m

1911-1912q

1912-1915a m n q

Black lace-up collars sometimes worn

1915-1917n

1921-1932a m n

1927-1929 awayn

1932-1934m n q

1934-1935n

1935-1936n

1936-March 39g m n

March 1939-1940n

1945-1958a m n q

1958-1960m n

1960-1962m q

1962-1963m

1963-1964h p

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1965-1966a b h

1966-1967a b h

1967-1968k

1968-1969b f h m

1969-1972a b h k

1972-1975a b

Bukta

1975-1976p

Admiral

1976-1977a b n k

Admiral

1977-1979k

Adidas

1979-1982b f k

Adidas

1982-1983a f k

Adidas

1983-1984k k

Adidas

1984-1985a f k k

Adidas

1985-1986a f k k

Adidas

1986-1987b k

Umbro

1987-1990a f k

Umbro

1990-1992b k

Umbro

1992-1993b f k

Umbro

1993-1994k q

Umbro

1994-1996b f k

Umbro

1996-1997b j k

Puma

1997-1998b j k

Puma

1998-2000b k

Puma

2000-2001b k

Le Coq Sportif

2001-2002e k

Le Coq Sportif

2002-2004e k

Nike

2004-2005e k

Nike

2005-2006c k

Nike

2006-2007a k

Nike

2007-2008 a o

Nike

2008-2009a o

Nike

2009-2010a

Nike

2010-2011a

Adidas

2011-2012a

Adidas

2012-2013a

Adidas

2013-2014a

Adidas

2014-2015a

Background

The original Aberdeen FC
was formed in October 1881, the initiative of three teachers from Woodside
School. Following a public meeting the secretary was instructed to buy
a ball, an inflator and eleven maroon jerseys. Their first match was
played the following March against Coupar Angus, Aberdeen losing both
the opening and return games. In 1888, the club won the inaugural Aberdeenshire
Cup and in 1891, they joined the Northern League. In 1899, the club
moved to Pittodrie, previously used as a site for the disposal of dung
from police horses.

In February 1900, Pittodrie hosted an international
between Scotland and Wales and a year later, Everton became the first
English side to visit the city for a friendly match, which they won
3-1. After rejecting overtures from Hibernian, who wanted to take over
and move to Pittodrie, serious efforts were made to bring together the
three top sides in the city. An attempt to join the Scottish Football
League was rebuffed adding momentum to the idea of a merger. On 14 April,
1903, Aberdeen FC, Orion FC (who originally played in "Brunswick" jerseys, a very dark green) and Victoria United (whose colours
were blue) were wound up and the modern Aberdeen FC was constituted.
The new club's colours were registered with the SFA as white, the same
as the original Aberdeen FC.

Two further attempts to win election to the Scottish
First Division were unsuccessful but in May 1904, the club replaced
Ayr Parkhouse in Scottish Division Two. Playing in a new black and gold
kit, the club was soon dubbed "The Wasps." After winning the
Qualifying Cup in 1904, Aberdeen were finally elected to the top level
following the decision to expand the First Division from 14 to 16 clubs
in May 1905. (Second Division champions, Clyde were not elected - Aberdeen's
elevation was largely due to the support of Celtic who perhaps feared
the rivalry of another Glasgow side.)

The Scottish First Division continued throughout
the Great War (although Division Two was abandoned) but with wages cut,
travel restricted and players being called to arms, Aberdeen struggled
to make ends meet. In 1917 the club resigned along with Raith Rovers
and Dundee but they were welcomed back as soon as hostilities ended.

In 1937 Aberdeen reached the Scottish FA Cup
Final for the first time. More than 146,000 fans packed Hampden to see
Celtic win by 2-1. In March 1939, the club dropped their black and gold
colours in favour of red and white, their colours to this day.

After the Second World War, Aberdeen enjoyed
a spell of success. They won their first major trophy in 1947, beating
Hibernian 2-1 to take the Scottish FA Cup. Beaten finalists in 1953
and 1954, they won the Scottish League Championship in 1955 followed
by the Scottish League Cup and in 1959 they were again beaten in the
Scottish FA Cup final. During the early 1960s the club endured something
of a decline.

Generally the Dons wore plain red shirts throughout this era but during the 1963-64 and 1965-66 seasons a monogramme crest was worn sometimes.

After adopting an all-red kit in 1966, they reached another
Scottish FA Cup final in 1967 and qualified for Europe the following
season. After playing as Washington Whips in the United Soccer Association (the predecessor of the NASL), the Dons retained the shirts worn in the United States for the domestic 1967-68 season, complete with numbers on front and back of their shirts. In 1970 The Dons won the Scottish FA Cup for the second time and a simple cypher crest was worn in the final.

Since 1972 the club's official crest, devised by local graphic designer Donald Addison, had been a letter "A" made up of the profile of a goal with a football (representing the crossbar of the letter): the ball was cross-hatched to represent the goal net. This was worn on the team shirts for the first time in 1979.

Aberdeen made a shaky start after the introduction
of the Scottish Premier Division in 1975, narrowly avoiding the humiliation
of relegation by beating Hibernian on the last day of the season to
survive on goal average. With new manager Ally McLeod in charge, however,
they won the Scottish League Cup for the first time in 21 years in 1976.
In June 1978, McLeod having been tempted away to manage Scotland's humiliation
in the World Cup Finals and his successor Billy McNeill gone to manage
Celtic after less than 12 months in charge, Aberdeen appointed Alex
Ferguson as manager.

In 1980 Ferguson guided the club to their second League
championship. Two years later Aberdeen crushed Rangers 4-1 to win the
Scottish FA Cup and in 1983 they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in
Gothenburg, beating Real Madrid in the final. Ten days later they again
defeated Rangers to take the Scottish FA Cup. After winning the European
Super Cup they were named European Team of the Year. More success followed:
in May 1984 they won the Premiership title and retained the Cup for
the third successive season. Another League Cup win (1985) was followed
by the Scottish FA Cup for the sixth time in 1986 before Ferguson left
for Manchester United in October 1986.

Although Aberdeen were now well-known throughout Europe, the management realised that their crest was not recognised outside of Scotland, so commissioned a new version, which was adopted in 1986.

In 1990 The Dons won the Scottish FA Cup on penalties
and the following season were pipped by Rangers for the Premiership
title. The rest of the decade was comparatively lean and the club came
close to relegation several times, although they did win another League
Cup in 1995. No further honours came to Pittodrie for the next 19 years (they won the Scottish League Cup in 2013-14) and
while they can still count themselves among the main rivals to the Old
Firm, the golden days of Aberdeen FC seem a long way behind them.

Since 2005 the club crest has featured two stars that represent the Don's European triumphs from the Eighties. Another change was made in 2014 when the 1979 badge was reinstated.